Container for semifluid, viscous or powdered substances



May 29, 1934. J. B. I Ewxs 1,961,056

CONTAINER FOR SEMIFLUID, VISCOUS, OR POWDERED SUBSTNCES Filed March 23, 1953 e Le Y Y Y Patented May 29, 1934 CONTAINER FOR SEMIFLUID, VISCOUS R POWDERED SUBSTANCES Judah Barnett Lewis, Amhurst Park, London, England `Application March 23, 1933, Serial No. 662,368

In Great Britain April 5, 1932 6 Claims. (Cl. 132-82) L pastes or other pastes, household, boot and other polishes, ointments, soaps or the like, and is concerned with extrusion containers of the type comprising, as a self-contained unit, a body partV or receptacle for the substances, a top cover for this body or receptacle, and co-operative piston and abutment members rotatably displaceable one with respect to the other for expelling or extruding the substances through an extrusion aperture of relatively small area, that is an aperture through which plastic material can be forced in the form of a filament, tape or the like. V

The object of the invention is to provide improvements of construction of these extrusion containers and especially such as will render the devices clean and handy in use, inhibit leakage of material from them and contamination by dust or other foreign matter, and enable devices to be provided which are of neat and compact form particularly suitable for use as vanity boxes for ladies.

According to this invention, a container for semi-fluid, viscous or powdered substances of the e 1 self-contained extrusion type above referred to,I is provided in the top cover with the extrusion aperture of relatively small area, or with a plurality of extrusion apertures presenting a relatively small area, and resilient means are prof vided to depress the top ycover axially against the rim of the body of the container. As, the aperture or apertures is 'por are at the upper side of the container, unintentional leakage of the semi-huid contents through the aperture or apertures cannot ordinarily occur, while the resilient means enable the top cover to be mounted securely enough to ensure extrusion through the top aperture or apertures while preventing leakage at the edge of the top cover and yet i freely enough to allow facile turning of the cover to effect extrusion. In these containers the top cover has to be rotatable relatively to the body of the container and consequently a` joint allowing of rotation must be provided between these two'parts. At the same time, in order to Vachieve expulsion of the contents through the relatively small aperture or apertures in the top cover, leakage at this joint must be prevented or re duced to insignificant dimensions ,;and the present improvementsv provide advantageous means to these ends. Therotatable piston member vmay be carried by the top cover or by a rotatable bottom part of the device and the extrusion aperture or apertures are placedin the top cover close alongside the piston orA abutment. If desired, the piston and abutment may be made of wedge shape in plan for strength.

It is of 4advantage to make the upper surface of the top cover of the container of concave or slightly dished formation sothat the extruded matter conveniently rests' thereon and may be 65` conveniently removed. A further and important feature of this invention. isv the provision of a duplicate extrusion aperture or set of apertures in the cover, so that there is an aperture or a v set of apertures on each side of the piston or abutment thereof, making it immaterial where this piston or abutment may be situated in the container for, whichever way the rotation may be, one or other of the apertures or sets of apertures will be effective for extrusion purposes. The provision of a second aperture or set of apertures behind the piston also provides opening or entry of air if there is any tendency towards the formation of vacuum which might promote back flow of the contents. The resilient means for depressing the top cover against the rim of the-body may comprise springs or the cover may be of an inherently springy nature, The edge joint of the cover with A the body of the container may also be of rebated nature or of other form providing a tortuous or broken joint so as to inhibit leakage, and the body' may have a recessed edge or rim to trap material which may have leaked out over the rim.

According to a further feature of the invention, the container may have an inner body part providing a central space for the semi-iiuid contents and a surrounding annular or like space for cover-attachment means or for serving as a trap for any material which may have leaked out of the central space. The cover may comprise a part which is liftable fromthe remainder thereof to facilitate iilling of the container, for example, it may be constituted by an annular or like part with a central hinged part, and if desired, the latter may have a depending flange to t an inner body part aforesaid. The annular part may be spring-pressed to maintain sealing of the container when closed, or the annular part may be rigidly mounted and the hinge and the fastening of the centre cover portion have vertical play and embody springs. In the latter case, it is convenient to combine the hinge parts with a cam device adapted, when the centre v veniently on the cover.

cover part is moved to close it, to lift the hinge slightly and then allow this cover part to drop substantially parallel fashion. In this Way, very nice tting of the cover by depending flange on to the inner body part of the container may be attained. The iiange may fit either inside or outside the inner body part. Constructions with inner body part as above described lend themselves advantageously to operation of the piston by a rotatable bottom part of the device, as both the inner body part and the piston may be xed to this bottom part. In this case it is convenient to have the cover relatively iixed with the abutment mounted on its underside or on the underside of the hinged cover part aforesaid.

In order to enable the invention to be readily understood, reference is directed to the accompanying drawing, in which:-

Figure 1 is a central vertical section of one construction of container according to this invention.

Figure 2 is a plan of Figure 1 with the lid removed.

' Figure 3 is a view, similar to Figure 1, of a modification.

Figure 4 is a central vertical section of another modication, showing the lid open.

. Figure 5 is a plan of the device seen in Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a central vertical sectional View of a further construction.

Figure 7 is a fragmentary view of parts in Figure 6 but to a larger scale.

Figure 8 is central vertical sectional view of another modification, and

Figure 9 is a plan of Figure 8 without the lid.

In Figures 1 and 2, a device for the toilet-table is shown which may be constructed of thick material such as wood or porcelain, or of moulded material such as glass or a composition such as bakelite. In this device, the body a is of bowl shape and tted internally with an abutment member e and the top cover b carries a piston member f and has an extrusion aperture d on each side of this piston member. The top cover b is secured to the body by a central screw 1 which takes bearing against the cover through a coil or helical spring 2. The spring is suitably housed in a central recessed part 3 of the top cover b and bears on an internal ange 4 at the bottom of the recess. The screw is engaged in a threaded hole, or in a nut embedded, in a central upstanding part 5 of the bowl bottom and its head comes about flush with the upper surface of the cover b and may have a diametral rib 6 to enable it to be readily turned when it is desired to open the container for refilling. It is to be noted that this construction also shows that the cover b may be dished so that material extruded from the apertures d may rest con- The device also has a lid h. The underside of the cover is held closely against therim part 7 of the body by the screw and spring l, 2, and has a depending edge flange 8, all with the View of preventing expulsion of the contents at the edge of the cover, but in order to take care of any material which may conceivably exude, the rim of the body may be recessed as at 9 to provide a trap or receptacle for receiving it. The depending edge of the lid h ts flush with the outer part 12 of the rim and it might conceivably be said that the rim of the bowl in these figures is rebated externally to receive the depending edge parts of the top cover b and the lid h, the rebate being formed with the trapping recess 9. The screw and spring 1, 2 allow regulation of the pressure on the top cover so that the latter is free enough for convenient rotation by the hand but not loose enough to allow extrusion over the rim of the bowl. The screw and spring also press the central parts, 3, 5, together to avoid leakage there. The abutment e and piston j are made wedge-shape in plan for strength but this is not essential.

In operation, the device may be taken in one hand, generally the left hand, and after removal of the lid h, the top cover b may be turned by the other hand. On turning the cover thus, in either direction, it will be understood that the blades f and e will act respectively as a piston and an abutment relative to the material contained in the device and the pressure of the piston under the turning force will cause material to be extruded through one or other of the apertures d, as leakage over the rim of the body a is prevented. By slight rotational movements of the top cover small amounts of the contents can be expelled at the apertures and thus a convenient method is provided, for example, for taking cream in suitable amount from a container for applying to the skin, without waste and without unduly soiling the fingers. Or other substances, in amounts enough for convenient use may be obtained from a container of this nature Without undue waste or spilling or soiling of the lingers or other things. The contents are also not liable to leak from the box through the apertures d because the latter are at the top, and any smeary remains of extruded material which may be let on the top cover after use, can be covered by reapplication of the lid h and dust or other foreign matter thus effectively excluded. It is, of course, important in this, and other constructions, that the lid, in removal, does not cause rotation of the top cover and consequent unintentional expulsion of the contents of the container. The lid is, therefore, constructed so that it fits loosely over the top cover, or other means may be adopted to this end, such as means for preventing rotation of the lid. The spring 2 allows slight vertical movements of the top cover to compensate for any l slight inequalities in the construction of the container.

Figure 3 shows a construction similar in general respects to Figures 1 and 2 but made smaller for serving as a vanity box for ladies. The body a has a flat cylindrical form and the lid 7L is hinged to the body at 13 and has a mirror 14 mounted therein. The spring 2, of course, is shorter than in Figures 1 and 2 and the rim parts 7 and 12 with trapping recess 9 between constitute double walls for the body. The top cover b may have peripheral nger recesses as at 15 to facilitate turning.

According to Figures 4 and 5, the container is of metal and the body comprises an outer part 16 preferably of cylindrical form, and a bottom part 17 which is rotatably mounted on the part 16 as by bending its edge 18 over an outwardly projecting edge ilange 19 of the part 16. The semiuid or viscous substance is contained in an inner body part suitably constituted by a cylindrical wall 20 of less diameter than the outer part 16 and secured to the bottom part 1'7. The top cover is in the form of a disc 21 which is detachably engaged with the outer body part 16 by a bayonettype or other fastening, such as the depending L-shaped parts 22 and inwardly projecting ledges 23 on the outer wall of the container. The top cover may have a depending flange 24 to fit the inner body part 20 and raised" parts 25 at diametrically opposite points to facilitate handling thereof. The fastening parts 22, 23 are such that the edge of the top cover becomes slightly sprung when the latter is applied, so that the fastening is made secure and the cover pressed down tightly against the rimi of the inner body part, by the inherent springiness of the edge part of the top cover. The container may have a hinged lid h but in this construction the piston is carried by the rotatable bottom part 17 while the abutment e is secured to the cover and has the extrusion apertures d on either side of it. This construction may conveniently be made of a small size for carrying in ladies handbags as a vanity box and is capable of very ready operation without first opening the lid, by holding the body and lid by the left hand and rotating the bottom part 17 by the other hand. rlhe rotatable bottom part a1- lows of an easy grip particularly if its edge 18 is knurled. The construction however, lends itself to use for larger size containers, and in order to avoid possibility of the fastening devices disengaging under the rotating movement of the part 17, there may be stop parts such as 26 embodied in the fastening parts 23.

In Figures 6 and 7 the container again has outer and inner body parts 16, 20 respectively and a rotatable bottom part 17 carrying the piston f as in Figures 4 and 5, but the top cover comprises a hinged part 27, which carries the abutment e, and an annular part 28 which latter is secured within the outer body part 16 by the ange or skirt 29. The part 27 is hingedly mounted on the part 28 and the attachment means for this part embody separate springs allowing a small degree of vertical play. As shown, the hinge 30, of the cover part 27, is carried by a slide part 32 which, as seen particularly in Figure 7, is carried in lugs 33 punched out of an inner skirt 34 of the annular part 28. This slide has a foot part 35 and between this and the annular part a bow spring 36, secured to the foot 35, is engaged. The cover part 27 has a cam 37 at the hinge which co-operates with a tongue 38 formed out of the skirt 34 and it will be seen that on raising the cover part about the hinge the latter will be caused to rise by the cam. The cover part has a ange 39 for closing over the rim of the inner body part 20, and the construction of the cam 37 is such that, on the closing movement of the cover part, the hinge is raised slightly as the cover part approaches the substantially horizontal position whereupon the cover part moves downwardly parallel fashion, that is while still preserving horizontality, and thus the Vflange 39 comes to a nice closure over the rim of the inner body part. The fastening 31 for the hinged cover part 27 is pivotally mounted on a pin 40 which is vertically movable in a hole in the annular cover part 28 under control of a second bow spring 41. The hinged cover part 27 is thus held eifectively down by the springs 36 and 41 when in the closed and fastened condition, while the springs 36 and 4l allow facile operation of the piston f. The container can be charged simply by raising the cover part 27 about the hinge 30.

Figures 8 and 9 illustrate another construction with outer and inner body parts 16, 20, rotatable bottom part 17 and hinged cover part 27 which may be flat as before or concave or dished as shown. The part 27 in this case, however, is carried by an annular part 42 which is resiliently mounted upon an annular flange 43 of the body part 16. As shown, the ange 43 carries several depending pegs 44 and the part 42 has depending lugs 45 with feet parts 46 which are perforated to slide on the pegs 44 under control Vof the bow springs 47. In this case, the depending flange 39 of the cover part ts within the rim of the inner body part 20 and, as in Figures 6 and 7, the springs 47 operate to keep the cover part pressed down while allowing slight vertical movements during turning of the piston f by the bottom part 17. The hinged cover part is fastened in closed condition by a pivotal catch 48 and when closed and fastened forms, to all intents and purposes, one member with the part 42 and is incapable of rotation under the action of the bottom part 17.

Any suitable material may be used for the construction of these devices as will be readily understood.

I claim:-

1. In an extrusion container comprising a hollow body, a rotary piston member and an abutment member, a top cover having an extrusion aperture adjacent to a side face of one of said members, and resilient means operative to depress said top cover axially against the rim of said body.

2. In an extrusion container comprising a hollow body, a rotary piston member and an abutment member, a top cover having an extrusion aperture adjacent to a side face of one of said members, resilient means operative to depress said top cover axially against the rim of said body and a recess formation outside the rim of said body for entrapping material which may leak over said rim.

3. In an extrusion container comprising a hollow body, a rotary piston member and an abutment member, a top cover having an extrusion aperture adjacent to a sideface of one of said members and aV second extrusion aperture adjacent the other side face of that member, and resilient means operative to depress said top cover axially against the rim of said body.

4. An extrusion container comprising an outer body part having a rotatable bottom, an inner body part and a piston member secured to said rotatable bottom, a top cover fitted with an abutment member and having an extrusion aperture adjacent to a side face of said abutment member, and resilient means operative to depress said top cover axially against the rim of said inner body part.

5. An extrusion VIcontainer comprising a holaround its edge, a top cover provided with a pisj f ton member and having an extrusion aperture adjacent a side face of said member, an abutment member in said body, a screw for securing said top cover to said body at the centre thereof, a coiled spring engaged between the "f head of said screw and said top cover, and a lid for said body.

JUDAH BARNETI LEWIS. 

